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Follow the Leader
Continuing from Episode 004 of the Wings of Red arc, '''Follow the Leader' continues the search for Royce Blixtrande after he was captured by The Dreadnaughts. Deciding they couldn't leave their leader, Wings of Archadia remained in Stonehaven with Jakko and Zander searching the woods. Where have The Dreadnaughts taken Royce? And what do they plan to do with him?'' Search the Snow Back at the Blue Bear, Wings of Archadia were starting to get worried when word that the airship was set to leave soon and there was no sign of Royce. Each member split up and looked throughout all of Stonehaven, asking anyone they found if they had seen the band leader. It was difficult to see anything with the night casting its black blanket over their heads and they weren't getting much luck with the citizens of the town. Their search eventually led them back to the Blue Bear where they had determined would be the meeting place if they hadn't found anything. "Anything?" Jakko asked as he watched the others conform near the town center fountain. "I got nothing." Clyde replied. "No luck." Roffe said. "Nope." Zander said in a short quick statement. Allastr shook his head. "Great. Now what do we do?" Jakko said to no one in particular, defeated, bringing his hands up and slapping them against the sides of his legs. "We can't leave without him." He placed his hands at his hips and let out a sigh, thinking as he stared out into the distance. Coming to a decision, he turned towards Roffe and Allastr, "Get our stuff off the ship. We're staying in town. Zander and I will look outside of town. Clyde, you stay here. If Royce comes back, I want to make sure that someone's here." They all nodded in agreement and went off separately to attend to their orders. After splitting from Roffe and Allastr, Jakko and Zander circled the town, sticking near the tall stone wall. They reached halfway before coming accross two sets of footprints firmly dug in the snow. Jakko reached down to examine the footprints and followed their direction. The prints left two distance paths sporadically broken up when they hit a patch of dirt. The two felt that this couldn't be a coincidence and followed them as they went towards the woods that sprung near town. As they walked, they came across a wide indent in the snow, maybe a scuffle of some sort, and Jakko noticed a small drop of red liquid stained against the white. Zander could sense what it was and the two continued following the footprints. The prints were different now. One path was replaced by smaller prints that seemed to walk on the surface of the snow, leaving behind gentle imprints. As they approached the edge of the forest, they realized how dark it truly was without the aid of town lanterns or stars overhead. Before they stepped through, Zander lifted his hand and concentrated his magical power into his palm. With no effort, it ignited in a bright blue flame that cast an icy glow all around them. It sizzled like a flare. Jakko shielded his eyes with his hand to let them adjust to the sudden illumination. They searched for any signs of a path and Zander pointed out an area between the trees that appeared flat enough for a person to walk through. They would use this as the starting point of their search. They trudged through the woods, Zander leading the way and their feet snapping small branches under their heels. Snow wasn't as heavy in this area and allowed them an easier time to navigate through the trees. It was an eerie atmosphere. The sounds of small animals scattering off in the distance. A few times, Jakko thought he saw the glint of eyes in the darkness. "Where the hell is this guy?" Jakko said aloud. Experimenting with Lightning Royce laid on his knees unconscious, crouched forward while sitting on his heels with a single spotlight shining down from directly above him. The light created a perfect circle around him as darkness hugged the edges of it. His body was bound by large chains and shackles in an elaborate setup that attached around a thick metal belt and collar around his neck. Holding everything together were black circular locks with a single turquoise jewel fastened into the metal surface. Although he had fought off against 3 strong adversaries and sustained heavy damage, his body had shown surprising resilience. Even now, the wounds he had sustained were closed and his body's naturally fast healing ability was working hard to restore him to proper form. His blood had dried and formed a brown-red crust around his more serious injuries. It was silent wherever he was, an eerie cold air ciculating around him as he sat there on the grey stone floor with his hands bound behind him. Suddenly, his head jerked to one side as he let out a low, quick groan. The chains rattled and sent an echo throughout the chamber. His eyebrows pressed against one another and he slowly peeled back the lids over his eyes. It took Royce a few moments to adjust his vision to his new surroundings. Even though the only source of light was above him, the floor seemed to glow too brightly for his eyes to handle. He blinked his eyes a few times and eventually his eyes were able to focus. Instinctually, he jolted forward and the chains snapped him back into place. They rattled louder and louder as he struggled against them, fighting to free himself. The chains seemed to be bolted to the floor behind him and he was only able to get to his feet before he felt the slack from the chains hold him in place. "Could you please stop with all that racket?" A nasally voice said from the darkness. Royce defiantly began another bout of pulling against the chains as he stared off towards the source of the voice. "Fine, then. Have it your way." And a click was heard. Suddenly, the jewels locking the chains together began glowing a bright blueish-green and a jolt of electricity shot through Royce's entire body causing him to shake violently. He grinded his teeth groaning as he hair stood up while the energy coursed through his body. Then another click was heard and the orbs went back to their muted color and the energy stopped. Royce staggered on his feet but remained standing as small trails of smoke floated up off his body. Then came another click, and another stream of energy, and another bout of violent shaking. This happened a few more times before it finally dropped Royce back to his knees. His breathing was heavy now and his eyes remained closed. "There. Much better." Then came the rattling once more as Royce, again, pulled on the chains and staggered to his feet. "Well, you're a stubborn man, Mr. Blixtrande." The voice said and there was a creak and click. Sparks shot out that momentarily illuminated a man's face, with the light reflecting off his round sunglasses. Lights flickered on all around them, one clicking on after the other in a sequential order. Royce scanned the room as the lights lit his surroundings. The best way to describe where he was would be to say a mad scientist's labratory. There were several tables with various vials and jars filled with multicolored liquids. Another table had several rows of large stone colored orbs set into pedastals. Above Royce were large spotlights hanging from black steel racks with wires running up its chains towards the cathedral like high ceilings. The man wore a yellow suit under a white lab coat as he walked over to a large block of red stone on the table in front of Royce. The man put on black rubber gloves which he adjusted with he fingers so it hugged his hands tightly. He reached over towards a series of tools laid out carefully next to the stone. His long black hair shined from the lights above. "You're an interesting man, Mr. Blixtrande." He spoke as he picked up a large knife with a serated edge and begin cutting into the stone in long and careful strokes. "Lucky me." Royce responded sarcastically as he yanked again his chains, feeling their strain against the lock bolted to the floor. "Again, Mr. Blixtrande, its futile to struggle. Those chains are specially made just for you. You're strong, but all your strength won't be enough to break free." A large chunk of red rock broke free and the man carefully placed it on a rolling table with other samples. He wheeled it over towards another table where several polished red orbs sat in a large wooden chest with bronze lining resting on top of a silver table. Royce merely grinned. "You don't know how strong I can become." Lights in the Nighttime Sky Coming Soon. Summary Coming Soon.